Confusing EE/Did I end up with all boys!?

[chrissynemetz]

Your thread made me go check my run this morning. I found two potential trouble spots in the apron.

 

[Folly's place]

Our rats came through a crack in the old concrete foundation of the coop, aided by some chewing efforts in the wood framing. Now covered in hardware cloth. It really just never ends...
Mary

 

[ShrekDawg]

Your thread made me go check my run this morning. I found two potential trouble spots in the apron.

Glad you found those spots before anything happened!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Our rats came through a crack in the old concrete foundation of the coop, aided by some chewing efforts in the wood framing. Now covered in hardware cloth. It really just never ends...
Mary

They can come in through concrete!?

 

[ShrekDawg]

When you have your coop, and then run, predator safe, with no more interesting tunnels present, things will be much better!
There's no such thing as 'just rats'!!! They carry bad diseases, eat everything, make nice tunnels for a weasel, and kill smaller chickens.
Traps won't get all the rats, if they are still present. It takes poisoned bait in safe bait stations, sadly. most of the rodents will return to their tunnels and die there; not good for any in the house, but fine in underground tunnels that you then fill in.
Mary

Yeah I agree!! I have been wrapping everything today so hopefully no more but the tunnels are definitely very interesting!! And yeah, that’s true. I should have dealt with them when I first saw them but I didn’t think I had that many.

For a while they were definitely eating the chicken food but then they stopped. I should have probably noticed when it stopped.

I was just glad it did and didn’t question it but in reality I bet something, whether it was a weasel or the fox we had around for a while, was probably killing them off.

Should have investigated or known something worse had moved in.

So do think a weasel moved into their tunnels?

And yeah, it actually is poisoned bait stations. Sorry, I said it wrong. It’s those big stations with the blocks you slide onto the prong thingies and close the box. We got two of them.

 

[Folly's place]

Our rats didn't actually chew through the concrete (far as I could see) but exploited a crack in the foundation, which is old. The coop is set on 6x6" beams on it, and the rodents found a way to get in there. They then moved into the insulated coop walls, now removed.
Mary

 

[ShrekDawg]

Our rats didn't actually chew through the concrete (far as I could see) but exploited a crack in the foundation, which is old. The coop is set on 6x6" beams on it, and the rodents found a way to get in there. They then moved into the insulated coop walls, now removed.
Mary

Ahh I see. That makes sense. Our coop isn’t insulated but we do have a compost pile somewhat close by.

 

[Marieaa70]

Thank you! This is very helpful! I was thinking that too. The hole is pretty tiny so it had to be small. I don’t think a fox could have fit through there? I actually just remembered/rediscovered a pretty big hole over by the other coop too that’s been there since sometime last month I think, I can’t remember exactly, but I thought it was just rats because we’ve had a rat problem so ignored it, but now I’m wondering if it’s not a weasel hole.... especially since I just discovered a feather stuck on some scrub on the path from their coop to the other coop where the hole is. And I’ve read weasels drag their prey back into the hole which may explain the lack of a body. I definitely need to get a game camera set up.

Yes a game camera is the way to go, I had a rat that was as big as a kitten, only found out with the G C , Oh I did catch and kill that rat, I love my G C its great in the yard and building s Great to see what goes on at night when we are asleep >LOL

 

[Marieaa70]

The feather which I think belongs to the chick but I guess it could belong to an adult too but no clue how it would have gotten out there. This is the hole. It’s quite large. There’s also tons of dirt as you can see but that’s been there even longer than the hole. There used to be a storage tote/shed type thing in this spot which I moved a while ago because I thought the rats were nesting under it and that dirt was between it and the coop. I assumed it was the rats but maybe also the weasel? It is quite a lot of dirt.

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Pour a box of Baking soda in the hole and the run, It kills rats, Rats are very clean animals and they get the B S on there feet and lick it off, and they can not fart or burp so that s what kills them , trust me it sure works and will not kill your chicken, and cheap to buy,

 

[annageckos]

I know people use poisons but I caution about it. Any animal that get a hold of a poisoned rodent will also be poisoned. Plus I've seen rats die from poisoning and it is a horrible, slow and painful death. I can't do it. I know people see them as pest but they still feel. Traps work but take time and work, some people aren't up to it.